Lord, Lord....

 Matthew 7:21–29 (ESV): 

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” 

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. 

Even those who talk about Jesus, do good things, work hard for the Church, are involved in miracles and can explain the gospel may not make it to heaven. This is what God's own son, Jesus, is saying. Even those who may have witnessed miracles, signs, wonders, incredible answers to prayer and spiritual freedom coming to others may miss out on the Kingdom of God. How is that possible? Those who seem to have incredible experiences of faith, even prestigious leaders, preachers and worshippers that you admire may not be as close to God as they seem. They might be gifted, sing beautifully, work hard, speak or teach well, serve or give sacrificially but be in danger of missing out on entering God’s house and even be rejected, why? 

Do you see the argument the people put forward in this piece of Scripture? “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” The things that they have been involved in they believe are their own doing. “did we not…” the emphasis is on them, not on God. It is almost like they use the name of God or His Son as a magic word rather than The Name that is above all names which carries all authority, love and power. They belittle the name of The Almighty and increase their own self worth, “did we not…”. The attitude of those who Jesus does not recognise is that they are somebody important - they have done good and great things in God's name. They take the credit for prophesying, casting out demons, and doing mighty works. The credit they take for themselves, they do not give the glory to God. Instead they become great in their own eyes.

Yet it is God who has allowed these people to witness miracles of salvation, hearing His voice, and people freed from demonic powers. However they have not recognised that it is God’s power that achieves these things. Those Jesus rejects are those who take the credit for the works of God and falsely believe in their own worth and importance in God’s realm. Their attitude is that, yes maybe they do believe in God, but they also believe in the power and capability in themselves too. Rather than crediting God with the incredible things they have had opportunity to be involved with or witness, they believe in the power of ME. Are you in the same danger as them? 

Do you REALLY believe that God has done the things you have witnessed, heard about and been involved in? Do you credit God with the works in your life and the lives of others, or are you taking some of the acclamation and gratitude for yourself? Only you and God know what you secretly think, so it is worth being honest with yourself now before you end up face to face with Jesus! For he will either welcome you or reject you dependent upon how you have lived your life. 

Only you and God know the truth. 

Does God really get the glory in your heart and mind or are you holding back some for yourself? Jesus says about such people, “I never knew you; depart from me”. Instead of investing in the glamour and acclaim of works and wonders, are you investing your time getting to know Jesus? Does God really get the priority in your life? It is the simple things like prayer and obeying Scripture, keeping your word, adjusting your life to honour God more, learning to love others as Jesus did. The understated, often unnoticed commitments that you make in your everyday life that show if you are someone who really knows Jesus. Like how you spend your time, make decisions, or what your priorities are. These reveal if God really is King in your life and if you are honouring and taking time to get to know Him. 

Does God get your gratitude and your time? Is he allowed to challenge your decisions and attitudes in order for you to become more Christ-like? Do you live in more fear of Him than anyone or anything else?

Those who make an effort to get to know Jesus, learn to walk and talk like him will be recognised and welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. Are you living like you want to be there?

Why you should ask God to bless you

 Psalm 67:1–7 (ESV):  

1  May God be gracious to us and bless us 

and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 

2  that your way may be known on earth, 

your saving power among all nations. 

3  Let the peoples praise you, O God; 

let all the peoples praise you! 

4  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, 

for you judge the peoples with equity 

and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 

5  Let the peoples praise you, O God; 

let all the peoples praise you! 

6  The earth has yielded its increase; 

God, our God, shall bless us. 

7  God shall bless us; 

let all the ends of the earth fear him! 

In this psalm, the people of God are asking that God blesses them, not for their own benefit, but so that others see that God blesses His people and will praise Him as a result. Have you ever considered that you being blessed is an opportunity to witness about God’s goodness and favour?

God’s blessings are a great way to share God’s goodness with others, to those that follow God and those that don’t. It shows that you recognise where the good things in your life come from, and is a chance to share some great truths about what living a life with God is like. Through receiving, recognising, appreciating, and sharing the wonderful things God has done in your life, you can impact individuals, people and nations (v3-4) and inspire them to consider and honour God - isn’t that cool?! 

The purpose of the requested blessing in verse 1 is that God’s ‘way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations’. It is not about the comfort or wealth of the individual or the people of God, but so that they can witness that God loves and cares for His own. Showing that God fulfils His purposes, lovingly leads His people and has the power to save. The people of this world, your nation, town and household need to hear that. They need to see the power God has to save and that God is living and active on Earth through your life. So, when you are blessed, when you see good things in your life, do you openly give credit to God for them to others around you? The purpose of receiving a blessing from God is to show others who God is. Therefore, when you are blessed you should share the; joy, peace, contentment, breakthrough, healing, gifts, and deliverance that God has brought. As the reason for the blessing is not for your own comfort and enjoyment, but for God’s way to be known and His saving power released to others.

Almost every verse of this psalm starts with asking God to ‘let’ His people do something. They are requesting His favour, His help and permission to praise, be glad and be joyful. Have you ever asked God for those things? The people of Isreal clearly realised that it is pretty easy to find things to moan about - there are always things we can be disgruntled about, annoyed with, upset by, it doesn’t take a lot to find things you'd like to improve in life. So, instead of focussing on those things, ask God to 'let' you be joyful, and full of praise. Ask for gladness and joy in your life, and then you will be delighted to share about God’s favour, and you can invite others into it. What a difference that would make in this world where there is increasing depression, anxiety and fear. You can be cross-cultural, you can be happy, peaceful, glad, and joyful - just ask God to bless you. 

When you are blessed, when you are happy, don't you share the good news with others? When good things happen, when we are excited about it, we tell people don't we? Well, when you ask God to bless you, and He does, you can do the same - tell people about His goodness. By doing so you will have a part in inspiring people to follow God, changing the life of a person, many people and even the nations! That's what this psalm shows. By simply sharing about the blessings God has brought you, you can be a witness. By letting people know the impact God has in your life you will be sharing about God's saving power and encouraging people to ‘praise you, O God’. What a great privilege!

In order for this to happen, you need to ask God to bless you. It may seem a bit odd especially if you are someone who is grateful for the great things you already have, but if you want to have opportunities to demonstrate God's love, power and salvation to others, then you need to ask God to bless you so that you have stories to share. I already have many things to be grateful for, yet even so, I want to be a part of inspiring people to praise God, So I am going to start asking God to bless me. I do not know what that looks like, but I do know God can and will do it. Then I will have more stories to share about how wonderful God is and trust that the Holy Spirit will use these things to show His way on Earth and release His ‘saving power among all nations’. Are you with me? Will you start asking God to bless you so that, ‘all the people praise’ Him?

Whose hero are you?

 I have always loved chapter 11 of Hebrews, these verses have always inspired me to consider the, ‘people of old’, to see the greatness of God, and the many feats of faith achieved. 

It lifts my vision of God, and of my own life. I love that here recorded are the steps of faith these people took, not their failings. It causes me to wonder, why then do I focus on my own failings rather than considering the steps forward I have made? Why do I focus on the times when I have messed up more than the times when I have stepped up? 

Are you the same?

Do you see yourself in a negative light? Do you think about the things you’ve done wrong more than what you’ve done right? If so, then you are not alone. Yet you can also gain inspiration and encouragement from this chapter. You too can see that God focuses on the positive attributes of His people not their mistakes. So, why don’t you give yourself a break and do the same? See what God has done in and through you, ask God to show you how He sees you - it may surprise you. 

Those commended in this chapter are esteemed for their faith in different ways, some of them are:

Acceptable sacrifices

Pleasing God

Walking faithfully

Reverent fear

Believing God’s word even when it seems impossible

Obedience

Looking forward to God’s fulfilment

Living in discomfort now knowing God’s reward is coming

Considering God faithful

Do you do any or some of these? 

Do you give generously and at a sacrifice to God and His people?

Do you please God by pursuing your faith?

Are you persevering in walking faithfully - being an upright citizen and living above reproach?

Do you fear Holy God?

Are you holding tight to His promises even when they seem far off? 

Are you doing the last thing God told you to do? 

Do you focus more on what is to come than your current experience? Is heaven a lived reality for you? 

Are you prepared to suffer now knowing there’s a greater reward that you’re not likely to experience on this Earth? 

Are you confident in God’s faithfulness?

If you can confidently say ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions, then you are in good company. This chapter shows us, ‘so great a cloud of witnesses’, people like us who have struggled, failed, let themselves down, yet also clung to faith. As a believer in God, and a truster of Jesus, you too can be considered as a person of faith alongside these heroes. You too have a story worth telling. You have a story of how you have overcome and held onto the faith. You are a witness to who God is, and you too can share your story and be an example of a faith hero to those around you. 

Who can you be a hero to? 

Who can you share the greatness of God in your life with?